SARGODHA: An anti-terrorism court judge has been threatened through an anonymous letter with ‘dire consequences’ if he failed to pay Rs5 million to the unidentified people.

Following the threat, the security of ATC Sargodha region Judge Mr Peer Muhammad Adil has been enhanced.

The internal security division of the federal interior ministry has sought a report from intelligence agencies and district police office on the issue within 24 hours. Accordingly, inquiries have been launched into the matter by police as well as the intelligence agencies.

According to sources, the Police have arrested a suspect from Chak 115-SB in connection with the threat and shifted him to some unknown place for investigation.

The ATC judge was hearing some cases of sectarian nature, sources said.

Police have ‘beefed up’ the judges’ security, which is more about their protocol than the safety of the court premises.

The security arrangements on the court premises remain poor in spite of ‘full-dressed rehearsals’ aimed at countering any terrorist attack.

There were no proper arrangements on the court premises for frisking women litigants, a lawyer said.

He pointed out that there were no tight security arrangements on court premises in the night. He apprehended that terrorists could easily dump weapons there in the night and could use them in an Islamabad-like attack in the morning.

He said the ongoing construction work on court premises had also made the place vulnerable to any act of sabotage.

He warned that lighting arrangements around the court building were also poor and could result in any untoward incident.

District Bar Association president Mian Arif Nazeer suggested that the entire court premises, especially the judicial lock-up, should be checked by police for any explosives every morning before allowing the litigants and lawyers to enter.